Ilya Sutskever, the co-founder and chief scientist of OpenAI, has decided to leave the company. This decision follows months of speculation about his future at OpenAI.
Sutskever, who was recruited by Elon Musk, has been a central figure at OpenAI since its inception in 2015. He has been instrumental in shaping the company’s direction and has made significant contributions to the field of AI. His departure has left a void that will be filled by Jakub Pachocki, the current research director at OpenAI.
Pachocki, who joined OpenAI in 2017, has led several key projects, including the development of an AI system that defeated human players in Valve’s Dota 2 strategy game. His promotion to the role of chief scientist is seen as a natural progression given his significant contributions to the company.
Sutskever’s departure comes at a time when OpenAI is undergoing significant changes. The company recently unveiled its latest flagship generative AI model, GPT-4o, and made major upgrades to its viral AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT. However, Sutskever’s exit also follows a period of internal turmoil at OpenAI, with disagreements over the company’s direction reportedly being a key factor.
Jan Leike, another OpenAI veteran who co-led the so-called superalignment team with Sutskever, also resigned. The Superalignment team, formed in July, was tasked with developing ways to steer, regulate, and govern superintelligent AI systems. With the departure of key members, the future of the team could take a different form.
The company plans to integrate the Superalignment team more deeply across its research to better achieve its objectives.
Read more: time.com